


Whispered Words

by Aquata



Category: Rush Hour (1998)
Genre: First Kiss, Getting Together, M/M, Romance, Sleep talking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-05
Updated: 2017-02-05
Packaged: 2018-09-22 05:47:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9586472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aquata/pseuds/Aquata
Summary: Carter talks in his sleep. Lee finds it alternately endearing and frustrating. But, luckily, the unconscious mind is sometimes happy to reveal things that might otherwise be kept hidden away.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Another fic for the movie versions!
> 
> I had a conversation a while back with Maone and we briefly mentioned the idea of Carter sleep talking. Anyway, the idea wouldn't leave me alone and I wanted to write it.
> 
> I hope you like it!

Carter talks in his sleep.

Lee finds that out on the day he wakes up in hospital with vague memories of falling masonry. He squints up at the ceiling and tries to remember what happened. He has a hazy recollection of being pressed into a corner with Carter as the ceiling came down around them but when he tries to focus on that memory it flits away, turning intangible as smoke and just as hard to catch hold of.

His thoughts feel sluggish and it takes him several long moments to come to the conclusion that whatever drugs the doctors have given him are pretty strong. It's difficult to think and the edges of sleep are calling out to him, tempting him to close his eyes and fall back under.

He almost gives in but with his memory of what happened so fuzzy, he doesn't know what happened to Carter and that is enough to send a spike of alarm through him. That sudden surge of fear and concern helps to clear his head somewhat, the need to find out if his partner is okay overcoming the urge to tip back into unconsciousness.

It lends him an alertness that had so far been escaping him and that's when he hears it. Someone is talking. Lee tips his head up in confusion to see if there is anyone else in the room and then stills in surprise at the sight that greets him.

Carter is sat in a chair, pulled up close to his beside, his upper body slumping forwards onto the bed and his head pillowed on one arm. His face is turned into the mattress and he is fast asleep. That doesn't seem to be enough to stop him talking though because despite the fact that he is completely out cold, his is mumbling words into the covers.

They come out muffled due to the way his face is pressed into the fabric and Lee can't understand a word he is saying, but just the sight of him, whole and healthy, is enough to calm that tight knot of worry that had coiled in his chest.

He looks at Carter's sleeping form for a few long moments, reassuring himself that he is okay. Now that the fear for Carter's safety is wearing off, the medication is starting to pull at him again, making him feel light and carefree.

He watches Carter sleep, an affectionate smile spilling onto his face as he takes in the fact that Carter has clearly been there a while. He is filled with a sudden longing to reach out and touch him, to have some form of physical contact with him. The feeling is nothing new but in his current state he can't seem to summon his usual reservations about doing it. He feels like he's floating, blissfully happy in that moment, so he doesn't even think as he reaches out a hand to stroke Carter's hair, sighing in contentment at the sensation.

The movement seems to rouse Carter though. His words cut off and he stirs, his head tipping up to check on Lee as soon as his eyes are open.

"You're awake," he says, voice rough with sleep but full of relief. It is only then that he seems to notice the hand stroking his head and he immediately flusters and lets out a startled yelp.

"Hey, man, what the hell?" he exclaims, jerking up and dislodging Lee's hand from his head. Lee sighs and lets his hand drop to the bed. He is used to Carter pulling away from any affectionate action by now and although it hurts, his mind doesn't seem to be able to keep hold of that hurt and it flits away and dissolves in moments.

"You are okay," Lee says cheerfully instead. "Not hurt," he clarifies, stumbling over his words, his grasp of English just as hazy as the rest of his thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Carter says, his expression softening. "Barely a scratch."

Lee smiles at him, glad that he is safe but his attention slips to something else within moments.

"You sleep when you talk," he says then frowns as his scattered thoughts try to decide if that makes sense. "Talk when you sleep," he corrects triumphantly with a bright grin and Carter's own lips pull up into an amused smile.

"Man they've got you on the good stuff don't they?" he says.

"Is very good," Lee agrees cheerfully and Carter looks like he's trying not to laugh at him. He doesn't mind that though. He likes Carter's laugh.  
He pulls his thoughts away from exactly how much he likes Carter's laugh with great difficulty and it is only then that he realizes Carter is talking again. He tries to focus on his words but Carter is chattering away at such speed that Lee would have difficulty understanding him on a good day, never mind when he is dosed up on whatever medication he has been given.

He tries, he really does, but his grasp of the English language seems to be hovering just out of reach and eventually he gives up, content to listen to Carter's voice and watch the way his mouth moves.

His eyelids are starting to droop again though, heavy with drug induced tiredness and even though he tries to force them to stay open, he is losing the battle.

Carter hesitates in the middle of whatever he is saying, seeming to notice his struggle.

"Hey, you should sleep," he says softly, his words at a much slower pace that Lee's sluggish mind can finally make sense of. He tries to say something in response, a hazy agreement maybe, but he doesn't think he quite manages it before his eyes are slipping closed as he gives in to the call of sleep.

He thinks he feels a touch of warmth against his hand but he might be imagining it and then he is sliding back into peaceful unconsciousness.

~~~

The second time he hears Carter talk in his sleep, Lee is much more awake and capable of stringing more than two thoughts together.

They are working a stakeout, holed up in a hotel room across the street from the apartment of a wealthy business man, who they suspect to be involved in drug smuggling. They have had a tip off that he will be meeting with another man involved in it all and they are hoping to catch them both in the act of a deal.

Lee is sat by the window, taking his turn to keep watch while Carter grabs a few hours sleep before they swap. It is dull work and nothing of interest seems to be happening out on the darkened street, even as the hours crawl by and the night gets later. He sighs and hopes that something happens soon because he would rather not spend the entire night waiting in vain.

It is then that he hears Carter say something and he turns to look across at him. He is about to ask Carter to repeat whatever it was that he said when he realizes that he is still asleep. He is sprawled across the bed, still fully clothed, and taking up the whole space like some kind of lanky starfish. Lee can't help wondering if the bed will smell like him when it comes to his turn to catch a few hours sleep in it.

Carter speaks again and pulls him away from that thought. His face is pushed into the pillow so once again, his words are muffled and Lee can't understand him. He briefly wonders if he could get away with trying to roll Carter onto his side so that he can hear what he's saying but decides that it's a ridiculous idea.

He tries to concentrate on the street outside, keeping watch, but Carter is being thoroughly distracting, his voice quiet and low as he talks in his sleep. It makes it hard to focus on the job at hand when all he wants to do is walk over to that bed and crawl into the space at Carter's side, and even though he is staring out of the window, he can't keep the image of Carter sprawled across the bed out of his mind.

He wants desperately to turn around and take the opportunity to see him like this, his usual boundless energy and emphatic movements replaced by soft limbed sleep. He wants to curl against him and feel the warmth of his body, to follow him into unconsciousness and later wake in his arms as if they were a loving couple. He wants to kiss him awake and taste his slumbering words on his tongue.

He does none of these things. Instead he fixes his gaze on the suspect's apartment and tries to rid his mind of the soft, incoherent words Carter is speaking. They fill his thoughts though, echoing in his head and there is no other sound in the room to drown them out. It makes it impossible to ignore the fact that Carter is right there, splayed out on the bed in a way that has Lee feeling flustered and warm.

He wishes briefly that he could understand those words, that Carter would roll over and speak them clearly into the room but that thought is followed quickly by the wish that Carter would just stop because the sound of his voice coupled with the image of him spread across that bed is driving Lee to distraction.

It is made worse by the fact that Carter keeps falling silent for long minutes, just long enough for Lee to start thinking that he might have stopped, long enough for a tendril of disappointment to curl through him, before his voice starts up again, sending a jolt of surprise and something else through him.

It has him on edge, paying far more attention to the sounds of the room than he would like, listening each time to see if he will start again. The stopping and starting makes it impossible to get used to the sound, impossible to block it out and focus on the case. He is hyper aware of every sound Carter makes and so he almost misses it when a man crosses the street and enters the suspect's apartment building.

Thankfully he doesn't miss it though and he is still paying enough attention to recognize him as the man they have been waiting for. He shoots out of his chair and is beside the bed in a few steps. His hand falters for a moment as he reaches out to rouse Carter, taking one last look at him in his current state before his hand lands on his shoulder and he shakes him awake.

"Carter," he says, leaning over him as he grips his shoulder. Carter shifts slightly and Lee pulls back as his eyes open. He is about to tell him that their second suspect has arrived but then Carter smiles up at him, slow and easy, and his thoughts grind to a halt, the words catching in his throat as he gets trapped in that smile.

A moment passes and Carter's smile fades away. Lee misses it more than he has any right to.

"Is it my turn to watch?" Carter asks, looking across at the window and the seat that he had so recently abandoned, and that snaps Lee back to reality.

"He is here," he tells him quickly and Carter immediately jolts into alertness.

In minutes, they are rushing across the street, intent on catching their two suspects in the middle of a drug deal.

In the end it is an easy arrest and neither suspect puts up a substantial fight, although the business man's furious and very loud demands for his lawyer serve as a good enough distraction to drive those images of Carter spread across the bed, loose limbed with sleep, from Lee's mind.

At least for a while.

~~~

The third time he hears Carter sleep talking, they are in a far less comfortable situation. The gang of thugs they had been investigating had gotten the drop on them and even Lee hadn't been able to fend them all off, which is how they find themselves locked in a badly lit room while the gang's leader decides what to do with them.

They are both tied to chairs, sat back to back so that they can't see each other, and a guard stands just inside the door, watching them to ensure that they don't try to escape. They have been there for hours and even though Carter had yelled and shouted at first, threatening to kick the gang's asses when he got free, he had eventually listened to Lee's increasingly frustrated requests for him to just shut up and had fallen silent.

The hours drag by and Lee works slowly at the ropes tying him to the chair, trying not to attract the attention of the guard. It is slow work but they are starting to loosen and hope starts to grow in his chest at the thought of being able to break free and hopefully save them both from this mess.

It was sometime during those long hours that Carter had drifted off to sleep and Lee couldn't really blame him for it. They are both exhausted after a long day of tracking the gang down and by now it must be the early hours of the morning.

Lee is tempted to join him, to fall asleep for a few blissful hours, but he has no idea how long they have left and he can't waste it. So instead he sits and slowly tries to loosen the ropes binding him to the chair.

And of course that is when Carter starts talking, mumbling nonsense under his breath. And if Lee had found it endearing and enticing before, now it is nothing but annoying. He is exhausted and he just wants to sit in peace and continue his efforts to get free without a constant stream of sentences that don't even seem to tie together, whatever situation Carter is dreaming changing like water.

Despite knowing that Carter needs the rest, he can't help being annoyed that he has fallen asleep while Lee has to be the one to get them out of this. And now he is ruining the quiet that Lee had been growing used to and he doesn't even have the good grace to _make sense_.

Carter continues talking and Lee grits his teeth against the surge of frustration, using that emotion to fuel his efforts as he works at the ropes. Last time he had wanted to hear what Carter was actually saying, to understand those muffled words, but now he wishes they were quiet and intangible again. Carter murmurs something about a car and Lee twists his wrists against the rope.

The guard at the door shifts restlessly, sending an annoyed look at Carter and Lee thinks that at least someone else has to deal with this incessant noise too.

Behind him Carter sounds like he's trying to order Chinese food and that's even less fair because Lee hasn't eaten in hours and his stomach feels hollow, aching dully with the need to eat something. Carter's long list of requests really isn't helping and his mouth waters at the thought of hot food. He briefly wonders how many people Carter is trying to feed because it sounds like he's ordering enough food for the entire police department.

"Does he ever shut up?" the guard asks suddenly, sharp annoyance in his voice and Lee looks across at him.

"Very rarely," he says and is surprised to find that he actually feels more fond than irritated at that. "I suffer a great deal."

"If he doesn't shut up soon, I'll make him," the guard says and Lee doesn't like the sound of that, doesn't like the way the guard's hand is clenching into a fist.

"Y'all got camel's hump?" Carter asks. "Lee likes that."

Lee feels strangely touched that Carter has included him in this dream scenario but the growing displeasure on the guard's face has him working faster on the ropes around his wrists. They are looser now and he is almost free.

"And gimme some of that mu shoo pork," Carter says and the guard's mouth twists in displeasure.

"Alright, that's it," he says and his tone has a frustrated edge to it as he stomps towards Carter. Lee pulls hurriedly at the ropes around his wrists and the guard finally seems to notice what he is up to.

"Hey! What are you-?" he starts to ask but Lee wrenches his hands free and leaps up. His ankles are still tied to the legs of the chair but that doesn't stop him from swinging the first punch, catching the guard across the jaw. The guard reels back but then comes for him, lashing out with his fists. Lee simply sits back down and the blows sail over his head. The move seems to surprise the guard, throwing him off balance, and before he knows it, Lee is up again, hitting out at him again with quick hands.

The guard stumbles backwards and Lee jumps forward, the chair dragging behind him and hampering his movements. It is undignified and he sort of hopes Carter sleeps through this and doesn't see him jumping around still half attached to a chair, but a sound of surprise from the center of the room tells him that Carter is in fact awake now.

It only takes a few more moments for him to quickly dispatch the guard, who doesn't seem to know what to make of the fact that one of his prisoners is fighting him while dragging a chair around with his legs. One well placed blow and the guard crumples to the floor without another sound.

With that done, Lee sits back down, fumbling with the rope around his ankles until he can finally free his legs and stand properly. Then he turns to Carter, who is still thoroughly tied to his chair and looking like he's not sure quite what to say to that display.

"No offence, man, but that weren't exactly dignified," Carter says because he never seems to be without words for long.

"You were no use!" Lee responds accusingly, pointing a finger in Carter's face as he crosses over to him. "You were asleep!" He sets his hands to the task of untying Carter, pulling quickly at the knots.

"Well, hey man, maybe if you'd said you had a plan, I might've stayed awake for it," Carter says looking so unconcerned that Lee wants to slap him for it.

"I did not have plan!" he exclaims, his language stumbling more than usual, as it often does when he gets irate. "I got free. That was plan."

"Alright, alright," Carter says, finally looking apologetic. "Maybe I shouldn't have fallen asleep."

Lee nods in agreement, accepting the unspoken apology that is the best he's going to get, as he unties the last of Carter's bonds and steps back to let him stand.

"We are not out of it yet," he says, nodding towards the door that separates them from the rest of the gang. He moves over to the guard and fishes a set of keys out of his pocket.

"Okay then, let's kick some bad guy ass!" Carter says with a wild grin that is as infectious as it is foolhardy and Lee finds himself grinning in response as he unlocks the door.

What follows is a blur of angry shouting, fast hand to hand combat and some thankfully inaccurate gunfire. By the time they manage to get out of the building and make a break for the street, there are more than a dozen dazed or unconscious gang members behind them. Thankfully the rest don't follow and they are able to make it to the street and call for backup in minutes.

By the time their reinforcements show up, they aren't able to catch the whole gang, some of them having fled in the intervening time, but they do put a significant dent in their numbers and Lee is happy to class that as a win.

~~~

The fourth time he hears Carter talk in his sleep, the situation is thankfully far more relaxed and there is nobody to fight. They are slumped on the couch in Carter's apartment, the TV on and takeout cartons scattered across the table. Neither of them had felt like going out so Carter had insisted they needed a night in with junk food and mindless TV.

That had been earlier though and now Carter is fast asleep at his end of the couch, his head tipping forwards and his breaths slow and steady. Lee gives him a fond smile and picks at the last of the takeout, enjoying this rare moment of peace in their lives.

He feels warm and happy, safe in the comfort of Carter's familiar apartment with his partner dozing at his side and good food in his stomach. So he doesn't mind when Carter starts talking in his sleep again. He's in a much better mood this time and, rather than the irritation it had caused last time, the sound of it sends a wave of affection rushing through him as he turns his head to watch him unashamedly.

"Kick his ass, Lee," Carter says and Lee grins as he tries to imagine what fight Carter has managed to get them into in his dream. He watches Carter's peaceful facial expression, eyes catching on the way his mouth curls up slightly into a small smile and he finds his own mouth doing the same.

"Mmm," Carter murmurs contentedly. "I love you, Lee."

That stops all of Lee's thoughts in their tracks and he stares at Carter in shock. Had he really heard that?

"I love you," Carter mumbles again, as if hearing that question and Lee can barely breath past the sudden joy that flares in his chest. He has wanted him for so long, wished for the man he thought he could never have but maybe...

He is at Carter's side in an instant, scooting along the couch to press in close to him.

"Carter, wake up!" he says happily, his mouth stretching into a wide smile as he shakes his shoulder.

"Hmm wuz happenin'?" Carter asks groggily before startling noticeably when he realizes how close Lee is, obviously surprised to find himself being crowded into the corner of the couch by an enthusiastic detective. Lee beams at him merrily and he seems even more stunned.

"You talk in your sleep," Lee tells him and Carter frowns in confusion so maybe that wasn't the right thing to say to start this off.

"You say you love me," he tries instead and Carter's eyes go wide.

"What!" he yelps and he looks equal parts shocked and flustered. Maybe that wasn't the best thing to say either.

"Is okay," Lee tells him cheerfully before Carter can do something stupid like try to come up with an excuse. "I love you too!"

 _That_ seems to be the right thing to say because the look on Carter's face melts into something akin to awe.

"You do?" he asks, looking taken aback and Lee wants to show him exactly how much he loves him.

"Very much," Lee smiles fondly and Carter looks stunned for a moment longer.

" _Fuck_ ," he says finally and then his hands find Lee's face, pulling him in for a needy kiss that makes his head spin. It's hard and fast and somehow exactly what he imagined kissing Carter would be like, all that same enthusiasm he showed everything else in life being poured into each urgent movement of lips and tongues.

Lee drinks it in, dimly aware that he is making small pleased sounds in the back of his throat as he kisses back eagerly. Then Carter does something with his tongue that has him making a helpless sound and melting against him, unable to think past the taste of his mouth and the hot slide of his tongue.

Carter's hands drop to his waist, gripping firmly as he pulls him closer and Lee is almost sat in his lap as he presses against him. That idea sends a thrill through him and he finds himself slinging a leg across Carter and sliding into his lap without even consciously making the decision. Carter groans into his mouth at the action, his hands grasping at him urgently as he pulls him tightly against him and Lee feels hot all over as he kisses him desperately.

Everything seems to narrow down to hungry kisses and the quiet wanting sounds they are both making. Carter's hands find the hem of his shirt and Lee gasps at the heat of them as they slide up under it, twin points of fire against his skin that have him burning with need. He wants more with an urgency that is so overwhelming he feels dizzy with it.

They break apart, gasping for air and Lee can't help the bright smile that spreads across his face at finally being able to do this.

"Bed?" Carter manages to pant and Lee nods emphatically.

"Bed," he agrees but is promptly distracted when Carter seals their lips together again, licking into his mouth in an intense kiss that has Lee whimpering into it, his hands scrabbling uselessly at Carter's shoulders.

It takes them a while to make it to the bedroom after that. Even once they make it upright, they are too busy kissing and grasping at each other to do much more that stumble uncoordinatedly in the right direction.

Eventually, though, Lee finds himself being pressed into the bed and as he lets blissful pleasure wash over him, he finds himself saying those three words that had made his heart feel light and joyful when he had heard them from Carter.

"I love you."

He sees Carter grin at him and then Carter's lips are at his ear, breathing his response into Lee's skin. "I love you too."

~~~

The fifth time he hears Carter sleep talk is the same evening as the fourth. He is lying naked in bed with an equally unclothed Carter pressed along the length of his back, his body a solid warmth that Lee relaxes into happily. He can feel Carter's soft breaths on his neck as he sleeps and Lee is close to dozing off and joining him himself but he wants to savor this moment just a bit longer, wants to enjoy this quiet period of intimacy and soak in the fact that Carter actually returns his feelings.

He smiles contentedly to himself in the dark as he replays the memory of Carter telling him he loves him. He had longed to hear those words from him for so long but he had never truly believed it would happen and now that it has, he can't stop smiling at the thought of it, his mouth curling into an unending smile that he can't chase away, not that he would want to.

His chest feels warm with the glow of happiness that fills him, his joy an almost tangible sensation that leaves him feeling dazed, and he would be entirely content to stay like this forever, comfortable in Carter's arms, feeling the warmth of his body and safe in the knowledge that he is loved by this man.

He is beginning to drift off though, the peaceful darkness wrapping him in its embrace and tugging at his mind. He feels drowsy and content, his thoughts starting to turn slow and sluggish as he slips closer to unconsciousness, the steady movement of Carter's chest against his back and the quiet rhythm of his breaths lulling him towards peaceful sleep.

It is then, as he drifts hazily in that space somewhere between sleep and wakefulness, edging ever closer to sleep, that Carter says something, his voice soft and low. The sudden sound of it, so close to his ear, has Lee jolting back to alertness, his eyes shooting open and the drowsiness that had been calling out to him suddenly much further away.

Carter says something else, mumbling it into the skin of his neck and Lee realizes suddenly that this is going to be a thing now. He has heard Carter talk in his sleep quite a few times now and the conclusion is abundantly clear; Carter's not going to shut up any time soon.

He closes his eyes again, trying to find that sweet pull of slumber that he had almost reached before. He is just starting to doze off when Carter speaks once more and he finds himself being pulled awake all over again.

He sighs and briefly considers smothering Carter with his pillow. He disregards that thought though and instead finds Carter's hand where it rests on his waist and links their fingers together, using his grip to pull Carter's arm tighter around himself. He resigns himself to being awake, for a while at least, and settles in to listen to Carter's sleepy ramblings.

He can't really bring himself to mind though. He loves this man so much that his heart feels full of it and he can't help the curl of affection that twists through him as he listens to Carter's soft words. After all, if it weren't for Carter's sleep talking, he might never have discovered how the other man felt about him and then they wouldn't be here, curled together in bed with the memory of hot kisses and confessions of love that make his heart beat faster.

His mouth twitches into a fond smile as he relaxes against Carter, savoring the heat of his bare skin as he drinks in the half coherent words being breathed into his neck. Sleep is a distant prospect now, driven away by the low sound of Carter's voice but, for this night at least, Lee won't hold it against him.

He relaxes in his arms and makes a mental note to buy some earplugs in the morning. He has a feeling he's going to need them.


End file.
